Pro-Russian insurgents launched repeated raids on Thursday on an airport held by isolated Ukrainian forces as a month-old truce came under renewed strain and calls grew for the Kremlin to help halt the bloody revolt.
Smoke billowed over the northern half of Donetsk as resurgent rebels — backed up by what NATO claims are hundreds of elite Russian forces — tried to stage a final push on the devastated airport they have set their sights on since May.
“There is a huge fire burning at the airport. It is probably due to the fuel,” a representative at the Donetsk separatist headquarters said as periodic rounds of machinegun fire echoed through deserted streets.